🪦 RIP Transmission at only 6500mi (2024 LCLC)

[Falconry]

Report of transmission trouble in someone’s new 6th gen 4Runner:

 

[PDPete]

I've never once seen my battery at full, and I watch it. The closest it ever got was after climbing up to 13k... at the top! Engine braking in this thing is meager, I've wondered why they don't use the hybrid module for engine braking, and it seems like it would keep the battery topped off, as well. There should also be a 'charge-to-max' mode for when you are arriving at a campsite. Mine typically stays around 3-4 bars, sometimes 5, rarely any more, even after long descending long grades.

put it in Sport mode... battery charges much faster, I've even seen mine get to full after driving in sport mode for a while.

 

[Meteor]

I've never once seen my battery at full, and I watch it. The closest it ever got was after climbing up to 13k... at the top! Engine braking in this thing is meager, I've wondered why they don't use the hybrid module for engine braking, and it seems like it would keep the battery topped off, as well. There should also be a 'charge-to-max' mode for when you are arriving at a campsite. Mine typically stays around 3-4 bars, sometimes 5, rarely any more, even after long descending long grades.

I drive in Eco mostly, except when climbing steep grades or off-road. Coming down long, steep grades found around Colorado, I set the ACC to the speed I'm comfortable with and let it maintain braking and downshift. It works really well, and by the time I've reached the bottom, the battery is fully charged. Using ACC takes a lot of wear off the brakes, prevents brake fade, and is a lot less fatiguing on me during the longer downhills. When it gets curvy, I just decrease the set speed a bit; I never touch the brake. Aside from that scenario, I doubt you'll see the battery fully charged. I never have.

 

[Truckee]

This transmission is used in the hybrid version, but the "normal" Tacoma uses a different transmission (If that helps any).

The latest Tacoma TSB includes the iForce-Max and has the same transmission as the LC250. Supposedly a manufacturing issue that was fixed but some 2025's (Hybrid Tacomas and LC250) are popping with transmission failures.

TSB 0094-24

One here
Another here

 

[WeGo250]

The second time I reported the same symptoms, they "could not reproduce" [eyeroll]. Mine finally threw the three codes last week when I was off-road, fortunately it drove ok. After taking it in a few days ago they reported codes relating to the transmission solenoid, and said it would likely get escalated since my prior reports matched the diagnostics.



I've never once seen my battery at full, and I watch it. The closest it ever got was after climbing up to 13k... at the top! Engine braking in this thing is meager, I've wondered why they don't use the hybrid module for engine braking, and it seems like it would keep the battery topped off, as well. There should also be a 'charge-to-max' mode for when you are arriving at a campsite. Mine typically stays around 3-4 bars, sometimes 5, rarely any more, even after long descending long grades.

I have a '25 with just over 6,000 miles on it and have noticed a few hard downshifts coming to a stop. It's as if it's stuck in 3rd gear until about 5-10 mph then slams down through 2nd into first; pretty jarring but not violent. I've watched the trans temp and it's maintained the midpoint perfectly, until yesterday.

Was offroad, not rock crawling or anything crazy, just on forest service roads, and went up a pretty steep section. The section was short though and nothing a rav4 or entry level AWD or 4WD couldn't get right up, was going slow, probably 3-5 mph, and the transmission was slipping as it was running at just over 2,500 rpm. I had none of the offroad systems activated., and in the 10-15 seconds it took to get up this section of road the trans temp shot into the red and I got the overheated pull over message.

I crested the top and turned around and the temp cooled to normal in about 2 minutes. Calling the dealership this morning.

 

[mmmhhhmmmmmm]

I have a '25 with just over 6,000 miles on it and have noticed a few hard downshifts coming to a stop. It's as if it's stuck in 3rd gear until about 5-10 mph then slams down through 2nd into first; pretty jarring but not violent. I've watched the trans temp and it's maintained the midpoint perfectly, until yesterday.

I just realized it feels exactly like a bad downshift in a manual transmission. It's like they let the intern code the shift logic.

It also struggles with stops. Sometimes it shifts as desired, sometimes it "clunks", sometimes there's a 1-2 delay before the throttle responds after a stop. However, my Accord had the delay too, so I guess that's just automatic transmissions in general.

Was offroad, not rock crawling or anything crazy, just on forest service roads, and went up a pretty steep section. The section was short though and nothing a rav4 or entry level AWD or 4WD couldn't get right up, was going slow, probably 3-5 mph, and the transmission was slipping as it was running at just over 2,500 rpm. I had none of the offroad systems activated., and in the 10-15 seconds it took to get up this section of road the trans temp shot into the red and I got the overheated pull over message.

I crested the top and turned around and the temp cooled to normal in about 2 minutes. Calling the dealership this morning.

I did a steep dirt road climb in 4H once and instantly regretted it because I needed too much speed to keep going. I didn't have any of those symptoms but it quickly taught me that it was a use case for 4L.

 

[Lukin]

Update from dealership yesterday:

“The transmission and all parts required for repair has an arrival date of 9/28 but according to my parts manager could be longer.”

In line with what I expected. No word on the root cause of the failure.

 

[TrailWhale]

Update from dealership yesterday:

“The transmission and all parts required for repair has an arrival date of 9/28 but according to my parts manager could be longer.”

In line with what I expected. No word on the root cause of the failure.

Be sure to look up your local lemon laws (they vary by state). I had mine on countdown, but they got it fixed up with 7 business days to spare. I'm keeping a record of that in case the new transmission fails again within the next year, they don't get to restart the lemon clock for the same issue - but there's a 2yr / 24k mi window.


Other good news, while my dealership laughed at me when I asked for some sort of compensation (although to be fair, this was the service manager boss guy, and he is not concerned about my loyalty, understandably). They said I could reach out to Toyota, so i did. I opened a case with Toyota directly and they eventually comped me the 7yr/100k platinum extended warranty and 1 extra month of connected services (cruiser was in the shop for my last month of the 1yr period, when i got it back it had expired).

 

[SadWheatFox]

I drive in Eco mostly, except when climbing steep grades or off-road. Coming down long, steep grades found around Colorado, I set the ACC to the speed I'm comfortable with and let it maintain braking and downshift. It works really well, and by the time I've reached the bottom, the battery is fully charged. Using ACC takes a lot of wear off the brakes, prevents brake fade, and is a lot less fatiguing on me during the longer downhills. When it gets curvy, I just decrease the set speed a bit; I never touch the brake. Aside from that scenario, I doubt you'll see the battery fully charged. I never have.

I run in eco mode pretty much exclusively. The run from the Eisenhower tunnel into Silverthorne will usually charge my battery to full. It's kind of nice

 

[Trail250]

I run in eco mode pretty much exclusively. The run from the Eisenhower tunnel into Silverthorne will usually charge my battery to full. It's kind of nice

Mine isn't as extreme but now I think the torque converter and Transmission with wheel slippage get the transmission hot. My only fix at the time was to drop in 4-low or turn on tow/haul mode to stop the constant shifting.

 

[Lukin]

Be sure to look up your local lemon laws (they vary by state). I had mine on countdown, but they got it fixed up with 7 business days to spare. I'm keeping a record of that in case the new transmission fails again within the next year, they don't get to restart the lemon clock for the same issue - but there's a 2yr / 24k mi window.


Other good news, while my dealership laughed at me when I asked for some sort of compensation (although to be fair, this was the service manager boss guy, and he is not concerned about my loyalty, understandably). They said I could reach out to Toyota, so i did. I opened a case with Toyota directly and they eventually comped me the 7yr/100k platinum extended warranty and 1 extra month of connected services (cruiser was in the shop for my last month of the 1yr period, when i got it back it had expired).

Thank you! Really appreciate the advice. I did an extended warranty to 100K/Platinum when I bought it. My biggest concern is that it broke down 3 hours from home and being repaired by a Toyota dealer up there. Going to request a transfer to me or my dealership when it’s ready. Not sure what else Toyota corporate would consider comping me for the inconvenience. Connected services? Any suggestions?

 

[TrailWhale]

Thank you! Really appreciate the advice. I did an extended warranty to 100K/Platinum when I bought it. My biggest concern is that it broke down 3 hours from home and being repaired by a Toyota dealer up there. Going to request a transfer to me or my dealership when it’s ready. Not sure what else Toyota corporate would consider comping me for the inconvenience. Connected services? Any suggestions?

I actually used ChatGPT a lot for this process - to dial in my talking points, distill things down, bounce ideas, get some tips on how to phrase it, keeping myself charming and polite, but also being direct and to the point. Also chat gpt is great for helping with lemon law stuff (not a lawyer, but just calculating days and looking up the local laws and giving advice on when and what to do if it comes to lemon law time)

I originally asked for either extended warranty or a supported strong trade-in on a new cruiser. Things took a long time and my case fell through the cracks, so when I called back to check in a month later, i kinda gave up on the trade-in idea and just dialed it down to extended warranty. 3 days later they called back and offered the 7yr/100k platinum which was fine, and I was happy to be done with it.

Chat GPT also suggested asking for service credit as an option, but I'm not sure how that works between dealership and toyota. I like the extended warranty because it's from Toyota (technically Toyota Financial) and very likely will cost them nothing while also making me satisfied. All the other options would have had a guaranteed real dollar value on their behalf.

Connected services was easy for them to provide. I'll bet i could have asked for more, but I didn't want to make that into a petty thing, also connected services kinda suck anyway ¯\(ツ)/¯

 

[Lukin]

Update:

“Hi Mike, I got an update from Toyota regarding the arrival of your new transmission. The transmission has an updated arrival date of October 31st.”

Time to move on I think.

 

[GaryA]

kaon.com.au Just put up a video on YouTube about adding a extra transmission cooler for the 250. Easy install, might help with heating problem.

 

[WeGo250]

Update:

“Hi Mike, I got an update from Toyota regarding the arrival of your new transmission. The transmission has an updated arrival date of October 31st.”

Time to move on I think.

Think you'll lean on lemon laws and get them to take it back?

 

[Lukin]

Think you'll lean on lemon laws and get them to take it back?

Just got off the phone with Toyota Brand Engagement. Couldn’t get any information regarding my questions on the buyback unless I commit to it and get a case manager assigned. Was also told it takes 30-60 days to process the buyback.

Not sure but maybe the lemon process would be faster?

My questions were based on the reimbursement on whether it covered loan interest, extended warranty and the dealer add ons I did not want like the $500 nitrogen package which is complete BS in the first place.

This was my first Toyota. I was confident on the purchase based on the brand reputation regarding customer support and reliability. Perhaps my decision making skills aren’t what I thought they were.

 

[WookieBait]

Don't blame you, id lemon it or sell it back in a heartbeat if it happens to me.

 

[WookieBait]

kaon.com.au Just put up a video on YouTube about adding a extra transmission cooler for the 250. Easy install, might help with heating problem.

Is there any proof this is heat related? These transmissions have been failing in the 4runner and Tacoma as well from just regular street use.

 

[TrailWhale]

Just got off the phone with Toyota Brand Engagement. Couldn’t get any information regarding my questions on the buyback unless I commit to it and get a case manager assigned. Was also told it takes 30-60 days to process the buyback.

Not sure but maybe the lemon process would be faster?

My questions were based on the reimbursement on whether it covered loan interest, extended warranty and the dealer add ons I did not want like the $500 nitrogen package which is complete BS in the first place.

This was my first Toyota. I was confident on the purchase based on the brand reputation regarding customer support and reliability. Perhaps my decision making skills aren’t what I thought they were.

Dang, that is terrible. I'm so sorry to hear. two months is insane. Reading your comment about a 10/31 arrival I honestly said to myself "wow, good thing my transmission blew up when it did!".

ChatGPT is not a lawyer, but it is super helpful with navigating how to handle the lemon law stuff. If you are definitely going to be in Lemon Law territory, you may want to consult with a lawyer as well. For me it was relatively straight forward where I had a specific date where I would have been sending out a notarized letter to both dealership and Toyota to start the ball rolling. I would hope that the lemon law would give you the option of either A) Full money back including all the extras you paid for or B) New car, same warranty/extras, $0.

Curious about the loan interest angle, be sure to let us know about how that works out. I assume it's through Toyota Financial? if so, that should make it easy for them to make things right.

At any rate, I feel your pain. This is my 4th Toyota (3 have been new) and I have has zero issues until the LC Transmission. When i brought up my case to Toyota I really focused on the brand loyalty and reputation of reliability, and in particular because it's a LAND CRUISER, the most legendary reliable name of all Toyotas.

I won't be in the market for a new vehicle for a while (21 Rav4 + 24 LC), but I don't know if i will automatically default to Toyota next time like i have in the past.... but i probably will.

 

[fatsocells]

Just got off the phone with Toyota Brand Engagement. Couldn’t get any information regarding my questions on the buyback unless I commit to it and get a case manager assigned. Was also told it takes 30-60 days to process the buyback.

Not sure but maybe the lemon process would be faster?

My questions were based on the reimbursement on whether it covered loan interest, extended warranty and the dealer add ons I did not want like the $500 nitrogen package which is complete BS in the first place.

This was my first Toyota. I was confident on the purchase based on the brand reputation regarding customer support and reliability. Perhaps my decision making skills aren’t what I thought they were.

I live in California so our laws could be different but when my Tesla Model Y turned out to be a lemon, I was reimbursed the loan interest, any and all accessories I had bought (had to cough up receipts), and my initial down payment.